Deirdre Heenan is a former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Ulster University and a former Provost of the University's Coleraine and Magee campuses. Prof Heenan was also appointed to the Council of State by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins in 2012. She was appointed Lecturer in Policy Studies at the University of Ulster in 1995, becoming a Professor in 2007.[1] She is a prominent political commentator in Northern Ireland.